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The site was identified as important in 2011 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa	NT	resident	1995	10,000-15,000 breeding pairs	B2
Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis	LC	winter	2009	15-30 individuals	C6
Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis	LC	resident	2009	3-6 breeding pairs	C6
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax	NT	resident	2010	600-1,000 individuals	A1, B2, C1, C6
Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus	LC	resident	2009	600-1,500 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i, B2, C2, C6
Short-toed Snake-eagle Circaetus gallicus	LC	breeding	2006	9-13 breeding pairs	C6
Bonelli's Eagle Aquila fasciata	LC	non-breeding	2006	3-10 individuals	C2
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	LC	breeding	2010	15-30 breeding pairs	C6
European Bee-eater Merops apiaster	LC	breeding	1995	850 breeding pairs	B2
European Roller Coracias garrulus	LC	breeding	2006	85-105 breeding pairs	A1, B2, C1, C2, C6
Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra	LC	resident	2006	2,800-7,700 breeding pairs	C2

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2011) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2011. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Biological resource use	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Some of site covered (10-49%)	Not assessed	Not assessed	negligible

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1992	Valls de Sió-Llobregós	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	14
1992	Plans de Sió	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	8
1992	Serra Llarga-Secans de la Noguera	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	6
1992	Secans de Belianes-Preixana	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	5
1992	Granyena	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	4
1992	Vall la Vinaixa	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	2
1992	Vessants de la Noguera Ribagorçana	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	1
1992	Plans de la Unilla	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	1
1992	Bessons, els	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	<1
1997	Valls del Sió-Llobregós	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	9
1997	Secans de la Noguera	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	6
2001	Vessants de la Noguera Ribagorçana	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	1
2001	Plans de la Unilla	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	1
2003	Valls del Sió-Llobregós	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	14
2003	Granyena	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	2
2003	Bellmunt-Almenara	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	3
2003	Bellmunt-Almenara	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	3
2003	Anglesola-Vilagrassa	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	1
2005	Secans de la Noguera	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	4
2006	Plans de Sió	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	8
2006	Secans de Belianes-Preixana	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	5
2006	Plans de Sió	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	4
2006	Vall de Vinaixa	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	2
2006	Vall de Vinaixa	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	2
2006	Secans de Belianes-Preixana	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	2
2006	Vessants de la Noguera Ribagorçana	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	1
2006	Plans de la Unilla	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	1
2006	Els Bessons	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	<1
2006	Els Bessons	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	<1
2010	Anglesola-Vilagrassa	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	1
2013	Bellmunt-Almenara	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN)	3

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land, Perennial crops, orchards and groves, Other urban and industrial areas	85
Forest	Broadleaved deciduous woodland, Native coniferous woodland, Mixed woodland, Alluvial and very wet forest, Broadleaved evergreen woodland	10
Grassland	Steppes and dry calcareous grassland	5
Shrubland	Sclerophyllous scrub, garrigue and maquis	5
Wetlands (inland)	Rivers and streams, Water fringe vegetation	1

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	100
agriculture	90
forestry	10

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lerida steppes (Spain). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lerida-steppes-iba-spain on 23/11/2024.